The colossal ice sphere roared towards the Ghost Wizard and the gargoyle guard, carrying an unstoppable momentum.
It smashed into them with a thunderous crash!
"-9221!"
"-9432!"
The two damage numbers rose from the Ghost Wizard and the gargoyle guard, stripping away a significant portion of their health.
Both were sent flying by the tremendous force.
The stone guardian struggled to rise, and the Ghost Wizard's incantation was abruptly interrupted.
The Ghost Wizard, enraged, twisted its featureless, horrifying face as a bottomless black void quickly formed at its center.
Then, it unleashed a piercing shriek towards John.
"Screech—!" A massive, sharp sound wave, forming a terrifying sonic cannon, blasted directly at John!
"Soul Wail!" Even outside the attack's range, Seraphina felt a wave of dizziness, underscoring the attack's lethal potential, almost certain death upon contact.
John had been vigilant of the Ghost Wizard's actions.
As soon as the black void appeared on its face, he had cast Wind Flow Spell and Zephyr Shield on himself.
Before the sound wave could hit, John's figure blurred into a streak of cyan light, swiftly dodging the dreadful assault.
"Boom!!!" The powerful sound wave pierced through the Necrochurch, continuing unabated towards the Cemetery of the Deceased outside, whipping up a storm of black mist.
John wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, grateful for his caution.
Otherwise, had he been struck by that attack, he might have died ten times over.
John's expression turned serious.
He continued to move, his staff in motion, as a surging fire serpent rapidly headed towards the Ghost Wizard and exploded upon impact.
"-3409!"
Although the Ghost Wizard is of the magus class, its defense is notably high, at least for awakeners.
Seeing that its attack missed John, the Ghost Wizard's staff once again lit up with a dark glow.
Swirls of black mist enveloped it, and a massive black magic circle emerged beneath its feet.
Shortly after, ghostly shadows, akin to fierce specters, flew up from the cathedral's floor and rapidly converged in its hands.
By the time the Ghost Wizard finished chanting, it held a gigantic black scythe in its grasp.
The scythe, over a dozen meters long, was adorned with ghastly faces, as if countless demons from hell were howling in pain on its surface, seemingly trying to break free, giving it an exceptionally eerie appearance.
"Hellish Scythe!"
The Ghost Wizard's cloak billowed as it hovered in mid-air, the black scythe in its hand glowing with a dense dark light before it ferociously swung it towards John.
A black crescent-shaped blade, three to four meters long, sliced through the air, rapidly flying towards John.
John dodged swiftly, the black crescent grazing his hair and cleaving a stone pillar behind him in two.
Without waiting for John to retaliate, the Ghost Wizard swung its scythe in rapid succession.
A barrage of black crescent slashes flew densely towards him.
John moved swiftly, his steps unceasing, narrowly evading each slash just before they arrived.
Simultaneously, a green glow emanated from him.
"Thorn Spike!" Thick thorny vines burst from the ground behind the Ghost Wizard, piercing through its body.
"-4241!"
The gargoyle guardian, still trailing behind John and eating his dust, couldn't keep up with his speed.
While dodging the Ghost Wizard's attacks, John also had to manage the range, pulling the cumbersome gargoyle's aggro to prevent leaving its hate range and ensuring his patron, Seraphina, remained unharmed.
The BOSS's HP was dropping rapidly, and soon it was down to half.
Suddenly, it halted its movements, no longer swinging its scythe, and began chanting a skill, likely preparing a powerful attack.
John's expression grew serious as he stopped in his tracks, his staff suddenly glowing with red and purple lights.
A spark of fire and a purple thunderbolt materialized in front of him, beginning to attempt a fusion.
He was actually trying to fuse skills here?!
Seraphina looked at John in surprise, not expecting him to attempt skill fusion in this situation.
They were facing not a gargoyle but a Ghost Wizard!
Just a slight touch from its skill could instantly kill someone with a magus's HP.
And John didn't have any life-saving item; if he died in the dungeon, he would truly be dead.
Moreover, the thunder and fire elements John was attempting to fuse were notoriously volatile.
The slightest mishap could not only mean failure but also that he might be killed by his own skill without the Ghost Wizard lifting a finger.
Was he really that confident in his success?
Such a thought rose in Seraphina's mind, her expression complex.
In her view, only those extremely confident, even to the point of arrogance, would undertake such an action under these circumstances, something even she might not dare to do.
Of course, John was unaware of Seraphina's thoughts; his entire focus was on the spark fire and thunder before him.
It was as if the entire world had vanished, leaving only the two volatile elements of red and purple.
John attempted to guide the two elements to fuse using his mind, but the difficulty was immense, many times greater than that of water and ice elements, which were naturally repelling.
John pondered, recalling his initial fusion of water and ice elements.
They complemented each other, being fundamentally similar, hence easily merged.
The reason thunder and fire elements were challenging to fuse was their inherent difference and mutual repulsion.
Could he use this fact to his advantage and find a way to combine them?
Acting on his idea, John abandoned the notion of direct fusion and instead began to increase the quantity of both elements.
Then, utilizing their mutual repulsion, he forced them to compress against each other continuously.
When the two elements had been condensed countless times and John's mind power began to strain, he finally ceased his efforts.
Now, instead of the thunder and fire, a blazing white spear appeared before John.
This spear, two meters long, radiated a glow akin to flame, with white thunder snaking within, harboring a terrifying power.
Though it appeared stable from the outside, a closer inspection revealed the two elements inside were constantly pressing and repelling each other, highly unstable and seemingly on the verge of explosion.
Yet, a smile spread across John's face. He had succeeded!
Despite its instability, he had indeed succeeded!
The time John took to condense the light spear seemed lengthy, but it was only a matter of a few breaths.
Seraphina, who was watching, only saw John summon a bit of spark fire and thunder.
After a brief attempt, the two entwined and fused together.
Then, a terrifyingly powerful blazing white spear was formed.
Seraphina felt suffocated.
Not just from the oppressive aura of the spear, but also from the shock at John's talent.
He had succeeded again, this time combining the elements of thunder and fire!
If fusing water and ice elements initially was due to their inherent compatibility, then merging fire and thunder elements was akin to creating a new skill!
Such a feat, if known, would surely shake the entire Federation.
In the Federation, those who could create their own skills were few and far between, and without exception, they were among the top figures in the Federation.
And John, only eighteen and newly awakened, was destined for a future and achievements that would surely eclipse many in the Federation.
Seraphina suddenly realized why John was reluctant to reveal his talent during his awakening.
If his terrifying talent were discovered, he would either be forced to join a major power and never be able to leave, or he would be dealt with in secret, not allowed to grow and develop freely.
Seraphina pursed her lips, only then fully appreciating the profound trust John placed in her.
As John was fusing elements to condense the light spear, the Ghost Wizard was also chanting a spell, and both completed their actions almost simultaneously.
"Boom!!!"
The ground of the main hall collapsed thunderously, revealing a seemingly bottomless, terrifying crypt below, densely packed with bones—all awakened by the Ghost Wizard.
Skeletons with blue flames burning in their eye sockets scrambled out of the underground crypt, rushing towards John and Seraphina like a tidal wave.
"Skeleton Summoning!"